Having a chronic illness poses a serious threat to socioemotional development of children. However, family functioning may significantly moderate that threat In the case of Black families, functioning itself may be influenced considerably by several socio-cultural variables, viz., religiosity, racial identity, racial attributions and involvement in extended family networks. The relationships among sociocultural factors, family functioning and child development are evaluated in a sample consisting of 150 volunteer families of Black children either with cancer (N=50), with sickle cell disease (N=50), or without a chronic illness (N-50). This panel study develops a richly detailed data base mapping the psychological interior of Black families who experience a set of discrete physical and psychosocial stressors related to childhood illness. Families will be assessed over a two-year period. Measures include structured observations of family interactions, open and closed-ended family interviews, and standardized questionnaires on coping, family processes and relations, psychosocial development and psychological functioning. Lisrel causal modeling, Anova, and regression analyses will be used to assess the interactive relationships between family functioning, sociocultural variables and their effects in developmental outcomes.